Tony Manh reaffirmed the death sentence
Tony Manh, 40, the People's Court of Appeals in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, reaffirmed the death sentence for Tony Manh, 40, after hearing no new evidence for a reduction in his sentence, a court official told the Associated Press. of NSW, was convicted of trafficking 0.948 kilograms of heroin at the one-day trial , Phan Tanh, deputy head of the People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City, said.
Manh was sentenced to death and ordered to pay a fine of 50 million dong ($3,755 Australian).
Manh was arrested in March after security officers at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City found the drugs hidden on his body as he was about to board a plane to Sydney.
The official Vietnam News Agency reported that Manh was paid $US10,000 ($A12,020) by a Vietnamese to smuggle the drug into Australia.The Australian Government plans to lobby Vietnam to commute Manh's death sentence to a jail term once the appeals process has been exhausted.Mr Downer today said the Government had played a part in achieving this outcome for four Australians originally sentenced to death in Vietnam."I've no idea what would happen in this particular case as I understand that Tony Manh has actually pleaded guilty - but in four previous cases, we have successfully appealed for clemency,'' he told Southern Cross Broadcasting."That's not to say we will be successful this time.''Mr Downe
